Thank you, Chris (Fehring).

You read that introduction exactly the way I wrote it!

It is great to be here. I see a lot of old friends in the audience. And it is a real honor to be on the same program as Newt Gingrich. I am so excited I even bought a new tie for the occasion!

Today, I get to talk about leadership, which is one of my favorite subjects. I believe that leadership is about taking people to places they would not normally go by themselves. And breakthrough leadership is something that would not have happened anyway and it will never go back to the way it was before.

The theme of this conference is a leadership odyssey. And that reminded me of another odyssey. Remember?

When I first told my staff I wanted to talk about Homer, they thought I meant Homer Simpson! What I meant was "Homer," as in "Homer's Odyssey."

The story of Homer's Odyssey is about a king named Odysseus. He and his men spent 10 years fighting the Trojan War, and they won!

Then they spent another 10 years trying to get home. Ten years at war; 10 years trying to get home. Sounds like a typical day at the office!

During those 10 years of trying to get home, Odysseus and his men are on a journey. There were successes, and there were failures. There were experiences, and there were lessons learned.

And all of those stories can tell us a lot about leadership, and we can apply them to our business today.

On their travels home, Odysseus and his men stop at an island to get provisions. While on the island, his men meet people who sit around all day and eat the sweet fruit of the lotus trees.

The fruit is so delicious these lotus eaters spend all their time eating it. They are addicted.

Odysseus' men try the fruit and soon, they are addicted too. They have no interest in going home. They forget all about it. They become totally complacent.

Odysseus has a goal. He has a vision. He wants to get back home. So he forces his men to get back on the ship. He ties them up and makes them leave.

In this story, Odysseus shows great leadership. He has a vision and a purpose, and he is focused on his goal.

Like the lotus eaters, our industry can be complacent at times. Consider the challenges we are facing with the privacy issue.

We complied with the law and we sent out the notices. I bet every company here - mine included - used the "safe harbor" language.

Can I see a show of hands of anyone who understands that language? And the lawyers can put their hands down!

As a consumer myself, I probably received 50 of these privacy notices at home. They annoyed me and I am in the industry. And my wife is an attorney who understands this stuff!

The notices were so long and in such fine print that no one read them.

As an industry, we complied with the law. And in doing only that, we missed the opportunity to communicate to our customers in plain English.

We missed the chance to tell our customers that we do not share medical information or Social Security numbers. We missed the chance to tell them we do not sell information to third parties.

That information may have been buried somewhere, but no one read it because the notices were so long and tedious. It was as though we never sent the information at all.

We operated with a "business as usual" mentality instead of taking the opportunity to lead -- the opportunity to go beyond what we usually do.

I believe an important part of leadership is asking questions the nature of which leads to a breakthrough.

In looking at the privacy issue, did the law make it easy for customers to understand what we do -- and do not do -- with their information? If the answer to that is "no," then how can we change?

From Odysseus, we learn the importance of having a vision and a purpose -- not just eating the lotus fruit of compliance and complacency.

When his team was content with taking the easy way out, he woke them up. He got them focused on their goals again.

That is what we need to do. Compliance is important, and leaders will go beyond it. Leaders will do more than merely comply.

We need to remind ourselves that our customers built our businesses, and their needs come first. We need to recapture the vision of the customers' satisfaction as our ultimate goal.

As Odysseus and his men continue on their journey, they are warned about the Sirens. And I am not talking about police sirens!

These Sirens are beautiful women whose songs are irresistible, especially to sailors who have been at sea for months.

The Sirens' singing is so alluring, so captivating, that sailors row toward the island and their boats are destroyed on the coral reefs.

Odysseus wants to hear the beautiful songs and he does not want to end up on the rocks like chopped liver. So he puts beeswax in the ears of his men, and he ties himself to the mast. He can hear the songs and his men keep right on rowing.

Think of our industry today and the temptations we offer consumers. Is our industry singing the Sirens' song of easy credit? Low introductory fees. Pre-approved cards with credit limits large enough to buy a car.

Even consumers who have just gone through bankruptcy receive these offers. Even though our industry turns down thousands of applications every day, this still sounds like a Sirens' song to consumers.

I am pleased that since the terrorist attacks, some companies are waiving late fees, and giving people a month off from making payments. That is great leadership in these difficult times.

However, some in our industry are also like the sailors who listen to the Sirens' song and are seduced by it.

By offering easy credit, they increase their quarterly earnings. They generate high short-term profits for themselves, without worrying about the long-term effects on their businesses and on consumers.

And what are the results? Here is just one example: the average American has more than $8,000 in credit card debt.

If a consumer makes only the minimum payment on a balance like that, it is quite possible the debt will live longer than the consumer.

Given the Sirens' song some have been singing, is it any surprise bankruptcy filings are at an all-time high?

I am not saying it is wrong to promote our services. And I recognize the downturn in the economy has affected consumers.

As an industry, we should seek to protect ourselves from unreasonable credit losses. Lots of consumers are taking advantage, and that is driving costs up for everyone.

Bankruptcy reform is clearly needed. However, where is the leadership?

Are we taking our industry to places where it would not go on its own? Or are we continuing business as usual? We are counting only on bankruptcy reform to solve our problem?

Here is the power question I would like to ask this group: What else can we do to maximize the responsible use of credit by consumers while keeping it available and affordable?

If we look to Homer for an answer to that question, we find a leadership example in Odysseus.

He was warned of the dangers of the Sirens' song, and he was able to experience it without becoming a victim of it.

For our industry, that would mean protecting our organizations and consumers from the pull of easy credit. It would mean cautioning our customers about overextending themselves.

It would mean continuing our efforts to educate consumers about the importance of responsible credit. And it would mean identifying and following the best practices of our industry.

Like Odysseus - strapped to the mast - we should be able to hear the Sirens' song, and still resist it - for the good of our customers, and for the long-term good of our businesses.

Not all of the tales in the odyssey have happy endings. In the story of the master of the winds, Odysseus fails as a leader. We can learn from his failures as well as his successes.

The master of the winds gives Odysseus an ox-skin pouch. While it may not have been Gucci, it was a great bag!

It held all the winds that might drive the ships off their course, leaving only the west wind to carry Odysseus and his men home.

After sailing for 10 days and nights, Odysseus and his men are within sight of home. They can see the fires on the shore.

At this critical moment, Odysseus falls asleep. He had been awake the entire 10 days. We have all been there, and falling asleep is only human.

While he is sleeping, his men start looking at the pouch. They think it might contain gold or silver, and being greedy, they open it. They think Odysseus is holding out on them.

Odysseus failed to communicate simple information. He failed to explain the purpose of the pouch and what was in it.

As a result, instead of finding treasure, his men release heavy winds that blow them far away from home.

Right now, our industry is being blown around. We are fighting the individual anti-predatory lending statutes that have come up. AFSA is leading the way in this effort and is having some success. It is a fight that keeps AFSA sailing day and night.

This issue raises several questions. Should we be focusing only on bringing suits against local governments? Or should we go beyond this, and ask ourselves if this flurry of local legislation is trying to tell us something?

If so, instead of only reacting to local legislation, should we start a thoughtful debate that addresses the credit needs of non-prime borrowers? Could we use this debate to explore new approaches? Should we include state attorneys general, consumers, and others in the discussion?

One thing is certain: We should at least agree on a definition of predatory lending practices. If we do not, then someone else will define it for us.

Like Odysseus, we are missing the chance to communicate, and that could create some major wind damage!

As leaders, we can go farther than only reacting to what others are doing. Reacting is important, and by itself, it is not enough.

I am pleased that some companies have already changed their business practices.

If we are going to take people to places they would not normally go, we must ask ourselves the difficult questions. We must demonstrate leadership.

We can learn from the mistakes of Odysseus. We can stay awake and focused on the big picture.

I have been asking a lot of questions this morning. And I am the first to admit I do not have all the answers.

Too often, I think we try to come up with the answers before we even know what the questions are.

I do know we have the ability to ask questions, the nature of which will lead us to breakthroughs.

This morning, I have talked about privacy, bankruptcy reform, and predatory lending. There are many other issues I could raise.

As I looked over what I was going to say to you, I realized that all of the questions I have asked you this morning can be rolled into one power question.

The question is: Are we more focused on complying with the law and reacting to what others are doing, or are we focused on addressing our customers concerns?

If we answer "compliance and reaction," then we are talking about business as usual.

If our answer is "focused on customers," then we are acting like leaders.

And the next power question we should ask is: How can AFSA membership gain recognition as the good housekeeping seal of approval for the consumer finance industry?

Asking and answering that question would take us to a higher level -- the level of true leadership.

It is really as simple as that.

As I said earlier, I have asked a lot of questions this morning. I normally stay away from answering the questions I raise.

I find the people around me are usually a lot smarter than I am, and can come up with much better answers. So I stick to the questions.

There are a lot of smart people in this room.

This is our odyssey. And I can see leadership from here.

Thank you.